SAO: Hidden Story
by ShadeslayerZycron
Summary: We all know about Asuna and Kirito's story, but what about the other 9,998? This story focuses on two characters that were never in the original anime, but will hopefully leave a lasting impression. It's told in the first person.
1. Chapter 1

What does it mean to be strong? I had put on the Nervegear that day to see for myself. I was one of the lucky ten thousand to get the game on the release date. What I discovered was way beyond what I thought was possible in a VRMMO. My name is Zycron, and this is my story.

On the day I signed into Sword Art Online, I chose my first weapon from a shopkeep in the Town of Beginnings. It was a common blade, with a low skill requirement. A person in red ran by me, away from the tunnel out of town. He seemed pretty common for a player, his avatar clean shaven and tall. Then after I practiced my sword skills and won my first duel, a strange fire enveloped me and I was transported to the center of the Town of Begginings. A lot of people were confused, many starting to wonder what was happening. That's when He appeared; the DM, Akihiko Kayaba. Kayaba told everyone that he had created this world as his personal playpen, that we wouldn't be able to log out until someone beat the game. He then told us how two hundred of the ten thousand people playing have already died, and what would happen if we die in the game. When he got to the part where he stated if we die in the game we die in real life, you could feel the fear in the air. It hung over the town like a fog. Before he left, he gave everything one thing. A mirror. As soon as one curious person in black clothing looked at it, everyone's avatars changed, one at a time. Everybody looked as they did in real life. This caused some confusion, as a few players made files as the opposite gender. A girl about my age collapsed next to me, overcome with fear. I went over to her to see if she was okay, and put a comforting arm around her.

That's when I asked her name. "Hey, you okay? What's your name?"

The girl looked at me and calmed down a bit. "I'm f-fine, but your a stranger."

"Everyone here is a stranger," I said, "but if we are to survive we have to work together. My name is Zycron, may I ask yours again?"

The girl looked at me with a slight interest. "Your Zycron? My names Lillian, it's nice to meet you."

I smiled and helped her to her feet. "Lillian is a nice name, and I see your a spear wielder. Would you like to make a party? It will be easier to survive that way."

"Sure, if it really will help," Lillian said, accepting the party request.


	2. Chapter 2

I looked at Lillian. The two of us were still in the Town of Beginnings.

"Hey, Lillian, what's your preferred weapon?" I asked her.

"Why do you ask, Zycron?" She seemed curious to why I was curious.

I sighed. "Well, you see, the point of this game is surviving," I said, "different weapons have different stay requirements."

Lillian looked at me. "Hey, why don't we duel? First to dip into Yellow loses."

I looked at her. "Using the duel system can even be considered dangerous, Lillian."

"That's why we set it up with the ruling I said," she replied instantly.

I looked around. People were already betting Col on who would win. I opened up the menu and set up the request. "Fine, but only because you remind me of someone."

Lillian accepted the request and equipped a long standard spear. "Take out your weapon, Zycron. The ruling will end this fight before either of us dies, so no need to worry about death."

I equipped the standard sword I had bought, equipping bracers as well to allow for a more open movement than if I had a shield. "It's not me dying I'm worried about..."

The timer ended. Before I could even blink, Lillian was spinning the staff directly at me. I barely raised my left arm in time, my life bar lowering a small amount. "Your quite fast for a spear user..."

Lillian smiled. "That's not all I'm good at, Zycron." She spun the spearf around and I tried to party it. Her spear seemed to latch onto my blade, then I realized it had small grooves on the edge of its blade. She tossed my sword aside and it shattered, then she rapidly struck me three times before I could equip my backup sword. My health dipped into yellow.

The winner sign appeared above Lillian, and I heard a lot of people talking about our fight. I just shook my head and shrugged. "I guess you got me."

"I got lucky," Lillian said, tossing me some Col. "Take this, it should replace your sword."

I nodded, then felt an urge to ask her a question. "How exactly did you get your spear skill so high? That spear is at least a level ten weapon, and your only level three."

Lillian smiled, "oh, you know, practice."


	3. Chapter 3

Two months have passed since this so called game have started. Me and Lillian were hanging around the town close to the tower on Floor one. We had listened in to the meeting a group of players had about the first boss, but had refused to join them in attempting the boss. A guy named Kibal was really fed up with the Beta-Testers, but I couldn't see his point. As a guy named Agil pointed out, the shops have been handing out strategy guides written by the beta testers for free, and I had made sure to grab one. Me and Lillian had survived because, unlike most other solo players, we worked together.

Me and Lillian were walking the streets, observing the occasional duel, when we were stopped suddenly by a man with a blue cloak. He had a dagger on his hip. "Hey, you that hot-shot two man team around here, going by Shades of Peace?"

I stopped, wondering where this guy was going. "Yes, we are. May I ask what you want?"

Lillian looked at me. "You sure he's okay, Zycron?"

I looked over the guy. "With just a dagger, if he goes for an attack I can easily disarm him. Plus we are in a safe-zone. We can't die here." I looked back up at the man, who seemed to be waiting for me and Lillian to finish. "Go on."

The man nodded. "I've heard you two are a Solo-Team, quite rare here in Aincrad, having two solo players team up," he held out a hand, "my name's Renold, nice to meet you."

I looked at Lillian and she nodded, then I shook Renold's hand. "I'm Zycron, and this is Lillian."

Lillian gave him a distrustful look. "Renold, I don't know if we can trust you, but may I ask if your in the guild we've been hearing about, the one called Laughing Coffin?"

Renold looked slightly surprised, but showed his player info. "You can check my records here. I'll never join that Player Killing guild."

Lillian nodded and swiped the info screen back to him. "Good. And I can tell from your cursor that your green."

I put a hand on Lillian's shoulder, and she eased up a bit. "Sorry, Renold, we've been getting stressed out by this game. It never hurts to be too careful."

Renold smiled and gave a thumbs up. "That's good, you two. Anyways, have you heard? A group of people beat the boss just twenty minutes ago. Apparently the head was KIA, but most everyone else survived. Then there's the guy who got the final blow. People say he's a "Beater", a mix of a beta tester and beater."

I looked up at this, having thought over what I was being told. "This "Beater", did he have black hair and used a one-handed sword?"

Renold nodded. "People are starting to call him the Black Swordsman, due to his chosen gear," he seemed to think, then a notification popped up near him. "Hey, I've got to go, but if I ever see you two later, I'll make sure to say hi." Renold then ran off.

Lillian looked at me, then in the direction Renold ran. "That was a strange guy, but he almost reminded me of you, Zycron."

I nodded. "I can see that. Anyways, it's getting late already. We should get a bite to eat then check into an inn."

Lillian nodded, stretching. "Makes sense. I'm starving."

I put a hand to my stomach, an audible growl being heard. "Same."


	4. Chapter 4

Lillian struck out with her spear, using the momentum to backflip behind me. "Switch!"

I moved up and swung my blade, cleaving off the head of the NPC monster. I looked at Lillian. "Better timing with the switch, you didn't take a hit this time." I shethed the blade in my hand and looked around. "It seems we cleared this level, want to continue or stay?"

Lillian fell to the ground, sitting there. "That's enough for today, Zycron. We should let the Assault Team catch up." It has been a full year now since the death game started. We only had just gotten Floor 50 two days ago. Me and Lillian had saved up enough money to buy a house in Algade, a small house akin to a slum near Agil's shop. Lillian and I were glad to be near the merchant, as he had helped us out several times. He also happened to be on the Assault Team.

I nodded and pulled out two Teleport crystals. "Well, let's go home then," I said handing her one. She nodded. "Teleport, Algade!" Nothing happened.

Lillian breathed in sharply. I would have done the same, but then something appeared at the top of my field of vision: an event notice. "Damn not now!"

I turned to see a stone giant forming behind me. I backed up next to Lillian, switching out my common blade for a custom forged one. "Any idea what level this beast is, Lillian? You are the one with a high examination skill."

Lillian shook her head. "I can't see it's level: That's never a good sign."

I nodded. "That and us being in an anti-Crystal zone... should we attempt it?"

Lillian quickly flicked through her menus, pressing buttons faster than I could keep track. "I'm contacting our friends on the Assault Team. If they can get to us fast enough we probably won't-!" The stone creature, fully formed, cried out. Lillian instinctively covered her ears.

I raised the unique blade, ready to defend her. "A stone giant, how do we beat it without magic in this damn game?!"

The giant threw a boulder from it's hand a tie me and Lillian. I quickly pulled her out of the way. She glanced at the event beast. "Wait, I can identify its level now! It seem so the more of it's body it loses the weaker it becomes!"

I nodded, watching the beast turn. "It's still a level 49 boss-type monster... we can't beat it alone," I looked at Lillian, "but we've always proven the game wrong before."


	5. Chapter 5

The stone giant turned to me and Lillian. It's level was now significantly lower than before, being at 36, but it was still too high for me or Lillian to he able to damage it alone. Looking around the corridor I saw Lillian breaking apart the scattered rocks before they could rejoin the event monster.

I de-equipped my sword, to save it's durability, and equipped an obsidian dagger. "Lillian! I think I see a weakness!" I jumped up and struck at a niche in the armor. The monster cried out and a sizable chunk of it's HP gauge dropped away.

Lillian was quick to switch, striking at another opening. The monster couldn't retaliate. Behind us we could hear footsteps running to our location. "Zycron! One blow to go! It's all yours!" She jumped behind me, and using my dagger I activated a sword skill and somehow sliced the rock monster in half. Once I heard the crystalline shattering sound, I sighed out of relief. Lillian ran over and hugged me, catching me by surprise. "We did it Zycron! We beat it by ourselves!"

I sighed and just patted her on the shoulder. A familiar voice spoke up. "Hey, are we interrupting something? I thought there was an event monster to kill." It was Renold, the dagger wielder smiling at his friends.

Lillian jokingly pushed me away right as my reward screen popped up. I had gotten a Divine Stone of Returning Soul. "A revival item? But Kayaba said-! Woah!" Lillian roughly pulled me up. "Zycron worry about it later! We can go home to Algade now!"

"Yeah but-!" I sighed, knowing there was no arguing with the girl. "Well, now the event's over I guess we can use the crystals. Teleport Alga-!" I stopped suddenly seeing Renold's face change from a friendly smile to an evil grimace. I dropped the crystal and drew my dagger I still had equipped, about to block Renold's strike.

Renold sneered at me. "Too late." Before I could block it he plunged the dagger into Lillian's neck. She cried out and I struck without thinking, plunging my dagger through his head. He didn't even cry out as his body shattered into crystalline fragments. I went over to Lillian. "Lillian, we've got to heal you. I have a healing Crystal here somewhere-!" She grabbed my arm.

"Zycron, Let me die. I never should have met you in the first place." I blinked, seeing he really health bar deplete rapidly. I shook my head. "Lillian, you can't die! We are partners! One of us Falls, the other falls!"

Lillian shook her head. "Too late..." her life bar reached Zero. Before she could fully dematerialize I scrolled through my items list and pulled out the revival item. I used it on Lillian, praying to whatever god that watched over this cursed game would allow me to save her this one time.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat at the edge of the bed in the Inn. The girl in it finally stirred. "Lillian, you're awake." I couldn't help but smile.

Lillian looked dazed, then her eyes widened in shock. Instinctively she smacked me across the face, then her eyes focused. "Zycron! I'm sorry, I thought you were-!"

I grabbed her arm carefully. "It's fine, Lillian, he won't hurt you. Not anymore." Something in my voice must have made her uncertain, because she glanced above my head, where the cursor is visible above players. "Zycron, you're orange... why are you orange?!"

I sighed. "Lillian, to save you fast enough... I had no choice but to kill him... after all, he deserved it..."

Lillian stated at me with a micture of shock and hatred. I deserved it after all, for knowingly killing another human. But what she said surprised me. "Thank you, Zycron. I'll never forget you."

I looked at her. "You aren't mad?" She shook her head. "Zycron, if I was mad, I wouldn't be able to fight alongside you... I am furious, though."

I tilted my head slightly. "That makes absolutely no sense, Lillian."

"I know." She said, standing up. She then blushed. "I'm going to change, could you please turn the other way?"

I nodded and turned. "You know you can just equip the clothes an for armor right from the menu, right?"

"I know," she replied, "but I like doing it this way. It reminds me of home." Memories flashed through my mind: my four year old brother, now five or six, and my sister who was just born before I entered this death game. How were they doing without me? Were they worried about me? Did they care? I just shook my head. "If my family cares about me or not is up to them... how would my father react if he knew his son was a killer?"


	7. Finale

Me and Lillian followed the Assault Team through the boss doors. The second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath and Commander Heathcliff, and also the Black Knight himself, led the charge. We got to the center of the room, and someone asked where the boss was. Suddenly, the Second-In-Command, Asuna was her name, cried out that the boss was above us. Me and Lillian were backup for this boss, we often were being the solo players that we were. But this boss was not normal. It was the Skull Reaper.

The battle lasted ages, me and Lillian having a few close calls but we helped each other out a lot. When the beast got low on health everyone started attacking it at once, all aiming for the Rare Item drop. Lillian was the lucky one. "The Spear of the Reaper?" She asked to not anyone in particular.

I looked at the spear she had equipped. It appeared to be formed in the shape of the Reaper'a scythe hand. "What's it's stats, Lillian?"

She pulled up the comparison menu and sighed. "Not as good as Electrum, my custom forged spear." Dismayed she re-equipped Electrum, putting her rare drop in her inventory. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw Kirito, the Black Knight, rushing Heathcliff. What surprised me most was that the "Impenetrable Object" barrier appeared right where Kirito's Elucidator struck. Then, we learnt the truth right from Kirito's mouth himself: the commander was Kayaba.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room looked at shock at Kirito. Then the commander told us that the Black Knight was correct. He indeed was Akihiko Kayaba. He then offered Kirito an option: Run away and survive as long as he could, or die challenging him to a proper dual. Kayaba then activated a game-wide paralysis on every player. Me and Lillian cried out in shock as the effect took place and we fell.

We couldn't see what was happening, but we could hear. And we could talk. "Lillian, this may be the last day we... the last day we live..." I said, the realization we could actually die hear and now setting in.

Lillian tried to shake her head, but could barely move it. "Don't think of that, Zycron. We won't die here... Kirito will win..."

Suddenly we heard the sound of a player's avatar shattering. A few seconds later we heard two more shatters. I realized the paralysis wore off and sat up, helping Lillian. Someone suddenly cried out. "Where's the commander?! Where's the second in command?!" Another player yelled at him. "Dude, what about Kirito?! Where is he?!" I looked around myself and couldn't see any of the three. Lillian held up three fingers. "Three... we heard three player deaths... does that mean...?" I hugged her close.

"Lillian... Kirito did it... and so have we... we survived..." I was so happy I was crying. I wasnt ashamed of it. Then my vision glared white and I could no longer feel Lillian in my arms. I blinked and suddenly I was somewhere else. I felt something on my head and reached a hand there and felt the Nervegear. I was out of the game... I was finally free...


End file.
